Patents are known in the prior art which disclose various types of retention wedges adhesively adhered to teeth. Among such patents are the following:
Morgan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,183,396 issued on May 16, 1916, for DENTAL BRIDGEWORK which discloses a bridge having recesses which anchors are located to position the bridge properly in the mouth where it is held by keepers.
Evslin, U.S. Pat. No. 1,393,767 issued on Oct. 18, 1921, for DENTAL BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION which discloses an artificial tooth held between two natural teeth which are provided on their surfaces facing the artificial tooth with grooves in each of which an inlay having a pin vertically secured therein is adhesively held. Each pin fits into a groove on the adjacent surface of the artificial tooth which may be installed by engaging the pins in the vertical grooves and pushing the artificial tooth down until it reaches the gum.
Craig, U.S. Pat. No. 1,698,259 issued on Jan. 8, 1929, for DENTURE which discloses a flange to fit against the side face of a tooth to which a hollow socket is secured.
Newman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,565 issued on Feb. 14, 1967, for ORTHODONTIC BRACKETS which discloses a bracket having a back wall contoured to fit the side wall of a tooth to which it is adhesively bonded.
Mueller, U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,745 issued on Oct. 10, 1967, for ORTHODONTIC FASTENING MEANS AND METHOD OF APPLYING THE SAME which discloses a rectangle of pressure sensitive tape or foil to be pressed and held against the side wall of a tooth. The rectangle has an opening in the center through which a metal or synthetic resin portion extends when the tape is secured to a tooth. The metal portion has a head at its outer end with a groove in its outer face through which a strand of synthetic resin or a stainless steel wire can be threaded to assist in holding a series of heads against the side surface of a series of teeth.
Schinhammer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,068 issued on Jun. 13, 1978, for ORTHODONTIC BRACKET ASSEMBLY which discloses a bracket having s self adhesive layer on the surface which engages and adheres to the tooth. A series of the brackets is connected to a series of teeth.
Bullock, U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,911 issued on Jan. 1, 1980, for METHOD FOR DIRECT BONDING OF ORTHODONTIC STRUCTURES TO TEETH USING FLUORIDE PRETREATMENT which discloses a mount or bracket secured to teeth by an adhesive mixture with an arch wire extending from mount to mount over a series of teeth.
Kurz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,037 issued on Jun. 29, 1982, for FIXED LINGUAL ORTHOPEDIC APPLIANCE FOR MAXILLARY ARCH which discloses a bracket to be applied to teeth by a layer of adhesive applied to the surface thereof which engages the teeth. The bracket has an angular bit plane as a part thereof.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,624 issued on Dec. 14, 1982, for METHOD OF AFFIXING A DENTAL APPLIANCE which discloses a bracket bonded to the outside surface of each tooth with a high tensile-strength wire attached to the brackets which passes completely around the teeth.
Klepacki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,861 issued on May 1, 1984, for DENTURE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND METHOD which discloses a denture framework placed and held against the inner surface of all the teeth by brackets adhesively bonded to the inner surface of the teeth. The planar lower edge of each bracket is at right angles to the surface which engages and is adhered to the inner surface of each tooth in a recess ground into the inner surface of each tooth.
Nicholson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,352 issued on Jun. 7, 1988, for METHOD OF BONDING ORTHODONTIC BRACKETS which discloses a wire engaging anchor adhesively secured to the inner surface of each tooth by means of a dimpled or meshed pad having wire engaging anchors on its lower edge, thus enabling two wires to be held by each tooth.
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY, volume 53, No. 5, May 1985, pages 655 through 658, discloses etched castings a adjunct to mouth preparation for removable partial dentures.
None of these prior patents nor the article in said JOURNAL discloses the direct bond retention wedge of the invention which comprises a strong, non-resilient wire retainer for teeth which runs along the outer surface of a plurality of rear teeth at the gum line, around the back of the back tooth, a short distance down and in contact with the gum, along the gum substantially parallel to its upper surface, then upwardly in front of the last tooth in that plurality of teeth, around the front surface of the front tooth of that plurality of teeth and finally backwardly over said front tooth in contact with the gum. The wire is used preferably in combination with a planar sheet made of a high strength material such as stainless steel, plastic, and the like adapted to engage the surface of a tooth, means on the inner surface thereof to bond it to that tooth, and a groove in the lower surface to receive and hold the wire. For strength, hygiene and for maximum patient comfort the tooth engaging surfaces of the wedge has a direct bond pad secured thereto which is adapted to bond the wedge to a tooth.